Lily Evans-Potter: World Wanderer
by TheGirlWithFarTooManyIdeas
Summary: Pseudo sequel to Finding a Place to Call Home. Lily Potter dies for her son at Voldemort's hands and meets the Grim Reaper. Touched by her sacrifice, the Reaper gives Lily a second chance at life on one condition - she cannot return to the world she was born in. Lily ends up in a world where her altered son needs support. WBWL framework, multiple worlds, powerful!Lily
1. Chapter 1

**Lily Evans-Potter: World Wanderer**

 **Wanda: Hey everybody welcome back, especially to anyone who read my previous story Finding a Place to Call Home. I was doing some revisions on it, mostly to clean up grammar and spelling mistakes I missed the first time around, when I started thinking a little on Lily Potter herself. Hela's remark about 'being meant for much more' kind of rang in my head during a sleepless night and I ended up with this idea. I say 'pseudo sequel' because you don't necessarily have to read FPCH to understand this story - the main link between them is Hela, and the Lily in the story is the Lily from that Harry's World. (Yay for the multiverse!) But I do recommend you read FPCH first just for some background.**

 **Tyene: So basically, this Lily has the power to wander between worlds. There are certain stories that are quite popular - and repeat themselves throughout the multiverse. This one? Dumbledore and the Potters choose the wrong boy. You know how the wrong boy is usually treated in this story, except this time he isn't alone - he has Prime!Lily, who is thoroughly unamused at how her alternate son is being treated.**

 **Wanda: Usual disclaimer applies - I do not own Harry Potter.**

 **Prologue: The Next Great Adventure**

Lily was surprised by how painless her passing was.

Her soul remained long enough to see her magic succeed in protecting her son, her beloved Harry, from Voldemort's clutches. Her heart ached to be separated from her beloved child, but she trusted Sirius and Remus to take care of him and see him through the trials of life. They would meet again in time.

As she floated through the clouds and into darkness, Lily wondered why James wasn't with her – she had heard Voldemort's killing curse as she had fled to protect the nursery.

The darkness faded away after an indeterminate amount of time. Lily found herself walking along a beautiful, empty beach. It was twilight, with the sun having set casting grey lights across the black sky. Dark waves rolled onto the beach from a sea that stretched as far as the eye could see. Lily felt calm and at ease, as if she had been walking for a long time only to finally see her destination in the distance.

"Hello, Lily Evans."

Lily blinked and gasped when a young girl appeared in front of her in an instant. She was a battered looking girl, but there was an understated, Gothic elegance to her. She was dressed in a ragged black trench cloak with peasant's clothes beneath it, a hood partially covering her head. Her hair was messy and tangled, dark red clotted in it. Her eyes were deep fathoms, as dark as the sea she stood in holding years of wisdom that Lily could hardly imagine. In one hand, she held a simple farmer's scythe painted black; she felt instinctive fear when she gazed upon it. In the other hand, she held a pendant and chain; gold and red and seemingly pulsing with life.

For a moment, Lily stood stock silent. When she recovered her voice, she asked, "Do I know you?"

"All come to know me in their time. I am Hela, the Reaper." The girl answered, stepping out of the water until she was standing in front of the new soul. "I lead souls through the crossings, both to heaven and to damnation."

Lily's lips parted slightly, and before she could stop herself she said, "I thought you would be older."

She kicked herself the moment the words escaped her, cursing James for impressing his humour into her mind. But to her surprise, Hela simply chuckled in response, sliding the scythe over her shoulder to hang for carrying.

"I can look how I please. Bodies do not age and wither here. But that is of no consequence now; I came to meet you because you died prematurely."

"Pre...maturely?" Lily asked, not quite understanding, before a surge of worry overtook her. "I'm sorry if I've offended you somehow, but I had to protect my son, he has just begun to live-"

Hela shook her head and raised her free hand for silence. When Lily broke off her tirade, the ethereal girl spoke again.

"You misunderstand me, Evans-Potter. I am not disparaging your courage and nobility; you were doomed when Albus Dumbledore chose to withhold the prophecy from you for as long as he did."

Lily felt a slight stab of anger, what did that mean? Dumbledore cursed her son to grow up an orphan?! Even if Petunia did not take her bitterness out on her son (which she dearly hoped not, and was the reason the Dursleys were not listed as guardians except for a last resort), it meant she wouldn't be able to stand by Harry's side as he grew up, made friends, got married and achieved great things. She wouldn't be able to be by his side through his trials.

"You were meant for great things, Lily." Hela continued, gazing knowingly at her as if seeing all her internal conflict over this revelation. "You would have brought great achievements into this world. If Dumbledore had told you a mere month earlier about the prophecy that Trawley had spit out in a drunken fit, you would have lived to raise Harry."

"Why are you telling me this now?" Lily asked plaintively, a hint of bitterness in her voice. "I can't go back to Harry now; I can't protect him."

"Have no fear. I exist simultaneously in all times and places, and I see all. Your son will grow up and achieve peace and enlightenment in a world that has so stubbornly rejected it. His trials may be harrowing, but he will be loved and respected and have many children. Fear not for his fate; Voldemort will not drag his soul down into the void." Hela said, her voice softening ever so slightly as she said this.

Lily couldn't help it; a small sob of relief, joy and pride mixed together escaped her lips as her eyes blurred over. Her beautiful son, she could see him in her closed eyes. She wanted only the best for him, even if she couldn't be there to see it.

"Where's my husband?" She asked, noticing for the first time that James was not on the beach with her.

"His soul has passed on."

"He didn't wait for me?"

"That is partially my doing; I apologize. There's more I wish to speak to you, though, on other matters...somewhat connected to that fact." Hela said.

"Oh?" Lily asked.

Hela turned towards the sea and gestured with one hand. "You have done right by all, Lily Marian Evans Potter. Heaven applauds your selflessness. Since you have died before your time, I have an offer for you."

"What is it?" Lily asked, curious despite herself.

Hela took a step forward and unclasped the necklace she had been holding. Gently she placed it around Lily's neck. Warmth flooded the redhead's hands; she hadn't noticed that everything had become numb until just then.

"I am willing to let you step into another life, to live out all the things you were meant for." Hela stated. "This is a gift I can give you, in return for your selflessness. Though, there is a caveat should you choose to accept."

"R-Really? What is it?" Lily asked, startled.

"You cannot be reborn in your home world." Hela responded. When Lily looked at her in confusion, the Reaper elaborated, "Have you heard the theory of the multiverse? It is not a theory, but fact – though few, if any, have ever had the power, or the right, to travel between the barriers between each living world. Each world is full of unique but similar souls, many reflections of each other that walk in different directions."

"So...there's alternate versions of me?" Lily asked. A thought occurred to her, causing a troubled look to cross her face. "I wouldn't be.. _.replacing_ her, would I?"

Hela waved her hand. "Of course not. You would simply slip into the body of one who's soul has already passed on. You would remain yourself, not a pale copy of another."

"That's good." Lily said with relief. "Tell me more."

"In that amulet, I have given you a fraction of my magic." Hela said. "I can work well without it, but it will give you the power to walk between the different worlds. Once you have fulfilled your purpose in one world, you can simply clutch that amulet and wish to walk, and you will return here. And so you can continue, over and over until you are ready to ascend to the heavens. I'll be waiting for you then."

"I...I'm not sure what to say. You don't have to give me this."

Hela smiled slightly again. While her face didn't seem to move, it brought a softness to it that was never associated with death, except perhaps by the unlucky few who spent most of their lives at the Reaper's doorstep. "And yet I choose to, Lily. Of all the souls I have seen, you are one of those who deserve it."

"Though if you wish, you can go and join your husband now and wait for your blood son. What is it that you wish?"

Lily took several moments to take council with herself, pondering the choice lain before her. Part of her wanted to go, to rejoin James, but a thought tugged at her that had taken hold as Hela spoke. The Reaper said she would do great things; did that mean that her presence would bring life and joy to those who would have neither should she leave now? Was there not more she had hoped to do, prior to her death, that had been taken from her both by the war and by Voldemort's wand?

Lily was struck by a sudden excitement almost childlike in nature, as she thought of walking where no one else knew existed, bringing change to the lives of others like her and children like her Harry.

"I accept your gift, Hela. I thank you for offering me this chance! But how do I travel?"

Hela took Lily by the hand and lead her into the lake. The coldness of the water was great, and it seemed to pull at her legs. "This is the Sea of the Crossroads." The Reaper explained, gesturing towards it's immense size. "It not only connects the mortal worlds to the heavens and hells, but it connects the worlds that reflect each other. But you must be careful when you pass through it, for troubled souls lurk under the surface and they may try to bring you to the bottom where they are trapped, possibly forever."

Lily shivered. "This is purgatory?"

"In a sense, yes. However, it is also your path to the other worlds. The amulet I've given you is your protection and your anchor; you must never take it off." Hela warned. "Now, to get to another world, you must dive into the Sea and swim. No matter what, you must not stop until your legs are exhausted and touch down on a sand bar. I can't tell you how long it may take, but if your feet cannot reach the ground you must keep moving, or you will drown."

"So once I touch the ground...I've reached another place. How do I reach the mortal world?"

"The amulet will take you there once you choose your place." Hela told her.

Lily was about to ask more – so many questions were knocking around her head, so many things she wished to understand – when suddenly Hela seemed to cringe and curse as if something pained her.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked, alarmed.

Hela hissed and said, "I am going to damn Tom Marvolo Riddle and all his reflections to suffer in the deepest hell bowls for all eternity, that little shit! How dare he defile my artifact with that hideous magic." She straightened up and said, "I'm afraid this is where we must part, Lily Potter. I shall see you at the end of the line."

With that, she vanished as abruptly as she appeared.

For a moment, Lily stood dumbstruck on the beach alone, trying to puzzle out what on earth Hela meant by that. Tom Riddle? Tom Marvolo Riddle... ...Voldemort! She marvelled when she came to this conclusion; Riddle didn't sound like any known pure blood name to her. To think he came from such unheard roots! But in all the evils she knew he committed, for him to use magic so vile that even the Reaper was enraged...

Again, she felt a pang of anxiety for her only son, even as she remembered Hela's words about his future. _Will, I shall learn nothing standing here._ She thought, turning her attention back to the endless stretches of water. _Hela didn't give me this magic so I could stand here and stare like an idiot._

Lily waded further into the dark waters until she was up to her waist in it. She grimaced as the iciness told hold everywhere in her except for her chest where the warmth of the amulet pressed against her chest. She began to hear whispers – like people speaking two rooms away in a silent building, where you can just hear them if you listen but can't make out any of the words said. She took a deep breath and dove in face first, thrusting forward with her legs as she began to forward crawl through the abyss.

A horrible feeling set upon her, a grotesque amalgamation of all ill feelings and despair. It tried to penetrate her being, but the amulet seemed to burn brighter in response to the encroaching wave, warding them off. Lily pressed on, putting all the strength she could muster into her arms and legs.

She didn't travel far when she felt ghostly hands gripping her legs, trying to hold her back. The feelings of anger were there, but there was also much despair. These souls were not evil enough for hell, but had too much grief to move on to heaven. Lily felt them tugging at her, trying to absorb the light and the warmth the amulet was projecting.

She felt pained, as their longing surrounded her. She felt tempted to stay, to try and help these wandering souls, but once again Hela's warnings rang in her ears and she did not let up in her stride.

How long she swam, with the spirits surrounding her, whispering and crying and begging her to remain, Lily wasn't sure. Her arms and legs were now screaming with exhaustion and her eyes had long blurred with the cold water. She began to feel fear once again, _oh James what if I've made a mistake-_

Then her foot touched soft sand, and the spirits departed.

Lily stumbled to a stop on her feet, coughing and pressing her hand against the still warm pendant. She glanced over her shoulder; the beach had faded into the distance. When she looked in front of her, she found another beach, though it looked different from the other – it seemed more silver, more worn, as though a slightly higher number of souls had passed over it recently.

Cautiously, Lily stepped up onto the shore, wringing out her hair as she did so. She examined the beach for another moment, wishing she had been able to ask Hela more about this role she had accepted. She held the amulet in both hands and murmured, "I think I shall start here."

The amulet lit up, and Lily gasped as it engulfed her being with pain and vindication.

 ****In Reflected Little Whining, 2015****

Lily woke abruptly with a scream of pain and alarm. She tasted cool clean air, and felt a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you alright, miss Evans? Can you hear me?"

The noise that finally registered in her ears was that of sirens. Lily blinked rapidly and raised a hand to brush her hair away from her face. Her body felt incredibly stiff and somewhat alien; though thankfully she clearly had remained female.

The world came into focus quickly after that. She was on a familiar street...familiar in a stomach sinking dread sort of way. It was Little Whining – the home of Vernon Dursley.

 _Oh please god no, why here? Why did it_ have _to be here_? She thought helplessly.

"Can you hear me?"

Lily glanced to her right, where a concerned nurse was standing. She was sitting upright on a stretcher, and there was an expensive looking wrecked car a few paces away from them. "Yes," She said. "Loud and clear."

"Oh, good." The nurse said in relief. "You flatlined for a moment when we pulled you over; we were afraid we'd lost you."

 _I see...you probably lost this body's original tenant. So that's what Hela meant by the host having already left the body..._

Lily looked down at herself. Her clothes seemed a size too big for her, which suggested her body had changed from whatever it had been in the first place to her original appearance. Aside from that, she looked mostly like she had before, though her hair was a shade darker and her skin was more calloused. The body felt a little different too, but nothing that would constantly demand her attention.

 _Here I am,_ she thought. _I made it._

It took several hours and a short stay at the hospital before the nurse was ready to release her back into the world. While she was waiting, Lily bought herself a journal and burned some time writing. Once she was released, she examined her Driver's Licence. There was a wallet in her pocket with two hundred dollars, a bank card and a slip of paper with the pin number, a driver's licence, a health card, and an air plane pilot licence.

Once she was allowed to leave, Lily examined her new information and discovered her new address – suberbs on the other end of London. She caught a bus and made her way over to the number 15 house. There was a spare key under the mat and a car parked just out front.

Lily unlocked the door and stepped inside. There was a note waiting for her on the table. It was written in ancient norse, so she had to cast a translation spell before she could read it.

 _As far as the neighbours are concerned, you've always been here. They haven't noticed the similarities between you and the Lily Potter native to this world. This world is radically different from your first – tread carefully._

 _Good luck – Hela._

Lily smiled slightly. She wondered if Hela ever got bored of having to guide the souls to the afterlife, and this was her way of burning off stream.

 ****The Next Day****

Lily felt James's absence when she woke up the next morning – they had always stayed in bed together, often with the house cat Patches sleeping in between them. James teased that Patches was trying to steal her from him quite often. A small prick of pain hit her heart, but she remembered what Hela said. _We'll meet again in time..._

A look around the fridge made it clear she needed to go shopping. So Lily drove down to downtown London to get supplies – and a new kitten. Lily never liked being completely alone.

There was something just...sad, about this London. Everyone seemed to be discreetly on edge; as if they were expecting an earthquake or some equally sudden disaster to sweep in without warning. It wasn't visibly tangible – yet – but Lily could feel it in the air. _Is Voldemort here too?_ She wondered. _Or has another dark wizard attacked more radically in his place? Or is this world prone to disasters? Why is everyone nervous?_

After the better part of an hour, Lily brought herself groceries and a friendly, fluffy tuxedo kitten named Ashley. She was putting her items away in the trunk of her car, in the garage beneath the mall when she heard muffled yelling.

Frowning, she closed and locked the trunk before making her way towards the noise. As the yelling got louder, it was clear that there were a number of people.

When the group came into focus, Lily saw something that made her vision run red and woke a terrible rage inside her. A group of teenaged hooligans had thrown a boy to the ground and were in the process of violently kicking him. Two stood separately, holding back a red haired girl who was spitting and struggling furiously.

"HEY!" She bellowed.

The kids looked up to see her storming towards them. The ringleader looked familiar... ... ...was that Vernon Dursley? No, it couldn't be...that must be his son!

 _Petunia!_

She took the cell phone she had found in the house and opened it, glaring at all seven boys. She would have loved to unleash a torrent of hexes on them for abusing these kids, but she was pretty sure they were muggles so that was off limits.

She was somewhat bluffing – she hadn't entirely gotten the hang of this new phone contraption (the 21st century was proving to be a bearer of amazing change, and Lily had hardly scratched the surface yet) but the boys all panicked and ran when she made as if to press nine one one.

 _So typical of bullies,_ Lily thought angrily. _They're all cowards._

The girl, having bitten one of her opponents prior to Lily's arrival, spat on the ground and rubbed her mouth. "Gross," She said bitingly.

Lily smiled at her before kneeling next to the boy and murmuring, "Are you okay? Can you stand up? Your sides, is there sharp pain there?"

The boy grunted. "Nothing I haven't felt before."

Lily wasn't sure what to say to that, but she helped the boy stand up. Suddenly, she was struck by the resemblence he had to James – the same black hair and face shape. All except for the dark green eyes.

The boy, once he focused on her, seemed equally stunned. For a moment there was silence, before the boy hesitantly asked, "Mother? Is that...you?"

 **End Prologue**

 **And here we go! Depending on how this story is recieved, I may have it be ongoing with Lily continuing to travel to worlds beyond this one. Expect sporadic updates, because my muse often leapfrogs between stories (as you've probably noticed by now), but I'll try to get one update our per month for each of my stories. School will be returning soon (enters the fetal position) so I probably won't be able to keep up the update schedual I've been maintaining over summer, so please bear with me!**

 **Read and Review please!**

 **Read and Review**


	2. Chapter 2

**Lily Evans-Potter: World Wanderer**

 **Wanda: I'm back! Yay!**

 **Tyene: You've just been getting lucky that the stuff you've been doing at school hasn't translated into homework yet.**

 **Wanda: Don't jinx it please. I do not own Harry Potter.**

 **Chapter 1: Stranger Worlds, Stranger Times**

Harrison 'Harry' Potter needed a few minutes to clear his mind when he stared into the face of the red haired woman in front of him.

He heard his sister Dana's voice drifting from nearby; she was standing next to him now. She sounded oddly curious and subdued compared to her usual raging fury when situations like this came up – come to think of it, he was also in significantly less pain than he had expected, considering he had been left at the mercy of his cousin again.

This was hardly the first time Dudley had used him as a punching bag – quite the contrary, he was usually treated as the bully's personal punching bag. It had been like this ever since he had been fostered at his aunt and uncle's house when he turned one year old.

His uncle encouraged it. Vernon hated the Potters just as much as his wife, if not more – James Potter had made the mistake (or perhaps he did it on purpose – Harrison wouldn't put it past him at this point) of saying his family was old money and had a vault full of gold at the bank. Vernon had taken this as a personal insult, especially since he was taking care of the man's middle son.

Yes, Harrison/Harry (as he preferred to be called, though only Dana really used it) was the middle Potter, older than Dana Joyce Potter but younger than Adam Christopher Potter, the Boy Who Lived.

As if anyone would ever let him forget that. Especially Adam or his parents. Their parents.

Harry winced slightly. _They have me doing it now...well, they tried very hard to drill it in that they don't consider me human, much less part of the family..._

He also knew for a fact that his mother was away with James and Adam, training the eldest Potter child to face the evil dark lord. They were at Hogwarts right now.

The woman standing in front of him, however, looked extremely similar to Lily Potter. Her red hair was a few shades darker, but her green eyes were utterly characteristic of the Evans family. Her body type was similar too.

If he didn't know better, he'd say the woman was a grown up version of Dana – his younger sister had inherited all her appearance from her mother.

But she couldn't be his mother. She had never looked at him with the concern this person was showing him.

What made it even stranger was that, for a moment, the young woman looked equally surprised when she saw his face. She almost seemed like she was looking at someone else. However, the look was fleeting, and her eyes refocused into that same strange concern.

"Will you be alright? Where are your parents?" She asked.

"Out of town." Dana explained. "Our aunt and uncle are still inside the store. They told us to wait here."

"I'll go get them for you," The woman offered.

Harry flinched and said, "It's okay, really." He said hastily – a bit too hastily. Dana's scowl told him that she had seen it.

Harry appreciated her affection – some times, he was his only lifeline in his difficult life. She had been the one who comforted him whenever the Dementors attacked. She was his sole defenders inside their parent's house. He loved her a lot. But he couldn't get her involved with their aunt and uncle.

Dumbledore was the one that ensured he remained in Number 4 Privet Drive, no matter how badly Vernon and Petunia treated him. James and Lily supported him. Any mundane who tried to help was diverted by his wards. Harry's only attempt to escape them had been stopped quite neatly by Dumbledore.

"They don't care." Dana said flatly. "That boy you chased off, that's their son. Our cousin and his friends."

The woman looked sharply at Dana, before looking over her shoulder in the direction Dudley had run.

Harry muttered 'this won't help, Dana.'

Dana glared at him and said, "that won't stop me from trying, Harry."

The women growled and pulled out her phone again. She understood what Dana meant instantly; Harry couldn't say anything before she was pressing buttons and speaking again. "Alright – you two stay right here, I'm calling emergency. Then I'm bringing my car around – I'll stay with you until they get here."

 ****Later****

"...What's your name?" Harrison asked once he could no longer bear the silence.

Well, to call it silence wouldn't be entirely accurate. The wailing of the police sirens, the three cars that had pulled up, and Vernon's bellowing as he was strong armed into the back of the vehicle by a police constable the size of an NFL linebacker.

However, after the police were finished interrogating him, he, Dana and the woman.

Her name was Lillian Evangeline, he discovered. She went by 'Lily'.

That feeling of confusion and deja vu grew stronger – she was so like and yet _unlike_ his mother that it was beginning to give him a headache. They were connected somehow; they had to be, or else how would this make sense?

Lily gave both him and Dana a box of smarties to soothe their nerves. Harry wasn't sure what to make of her. Who was she?

Once the police finished their job, Lily turned her attention to them again. "Shall I drive you home?" She offered.

Dana glanced over at Harry. They shared a look before agreeing.

Most kids didn't get into cars with strangers. However, this stranger had shown Harry more kindness than his aunt and uncle for all the time he had been fostered with them. Besides, his cynicism said, what did it matter? He had a wand. This wasn't the first time kindness had been a thin veneer over thoughtless cruelty.

What was the worst that could happen?

But Lily didn't lie to them or take them somewhere away. She diligently brought the two of them to the address Dana had given her and gave them both an encouraging smile before driving off.

"It will get better," She told Harry. "I promise, it will get better."

Harry watched her leave, a strange warmth pooling in his chest. It gave him the strength to turn around and join Dana at the doorstep before she knocked on the door.

 ****Godric's Hollow****

Harry's stomach lurched unpleasantly as footsteps came closer and closer.

A moment later, the door swung open, revealing a tall, classically hunky boy with messy red hair and brown eyes, dressed in auror's robes a size too big for him. He was probably trying to look badass, but he ended up looking like a kid playing dress up. Not that anyone should say that too his face.

"Hey Dana, you're finally back... ..." Adam Potter slowed to a stop when he noticed Harry was present. He stared down at his younger brother for a moment before coolly asking, "What's it doing here?"

" _Harry_ ," Dana said through gritted teeth, glaring at Adam, "is here to stay for the night. The Dursleys have been arrested."

"Arrested?" Adam sputtered. "Arrested for what?"

"Oh, what do you think?" Dana spat. Without waiting for a response, she shoulder rammed her way past him and pulled Harry inside with her. "He's your brother, Adam! Stop being such a fucking tool!"

"Dana Joyce Potter! What have I told you about using that sort of language?" Lily Potter shouted from the kitchen.

Dana spat something in German – she had started learning the language when she befriended Astoria Greengrass and Megan Jones, who both had close ancestry in that country – before pulling Harry over to the couch and flopping down on it. Harry winced again as Adam said, "German curses count as well, Dana!"

"Yes, _daddy_!" Dana snarled in response, glaring at him as he took out his wand and sat down on the chair directly across from Harry.

"Dana, there's no need for that." James Potter's voice drifted from the staircase. A moment later, the tall, broad shouldered Quidditch player ex Auror joined Adam in the living room. He frowned the instant he saw Harry.

"Why's he here?"

"Because _uncle Vernon_ is a conniving bastard who hit him over the head with a chair and encouraged _cousin Dudley_ to beat him up with his friends!" Dana spat. "I find it amazing that after I heard about this, it wasn't you who cared, but a total stranger who just _happened_ to stumble across us!"

"Stop blaming your father!" Lily emerged as well. She had been making dinner for the family and only emerged when James did. "He couldn't have known that Vernon really did that. Harry was just crying for attention before, remember?"

"Since when does being put in the fucking hospital qualify as 'crying for attention'?" Dana asked bitingly. "If I was in his shoes, I would realize that trying to get your attention isn't worth it."

"Dana, if you can't be civil, you'll be spending the evening in your room." James said, his voice hard and full of warning. "And we've told you time and time again to clean up your language."

Dana sat back in her seat, her chin sticking out defiantly. James and Lily sat on either side of Adam and frowned at Harry.

"How long do you expect to be here?" James asked, as if he was speaking to a tenant.

Harry shrugged.

"I'll call Dumbledore, honey." Lily said soothingly, ignoring the despairing look that crossed over Harry's face at this. "I'm sure he'll sort this out."

"You mean getting a child abuser out of jail? Yeah, that's certainty 'sorting things out'." Dana scathed.

"Dana, _stop it_." James said angrily. "I don't know what's gotten into you since you started school, but I don't like it. You've gotten so vindictive-"

"Oh, maybe it's because I _care about my brother instead of treating him like some sort of monster-_ "

"Harry isn't your brother! He isn't even human! He's a horcrux!" Adam shouted. "He's nothing but a twisted creature formed by Voldemort's dark magic!"

" _YOU DON'T FUCKING KNOW THAT FOR SURE!_ " Dana all but screeched this, unconsciously amplifying her voice with her magic. All four other Potters flinched at the onslaught.

Dana surged to her feet and glared ferociously at her parents and Adam. "You cower behind that supposed prophecy every time this discussion happens! Daddy keeps saying 'this family is beholden to nothing', yet follows that idiot headmaster's dictation of everything and a prophecy spouted by a an old fraud who usually spouts drunken gibberish! I HATE ALL OF YOU!"

"Go to your room!" Lily tried to sound intimidating, but she was lost over Dana's hateful spit. The youngest Potter turned on her heel on her own power before storming up the stairs, leaving a chilly silence in her wake.

Once the sound of her door closing rang, Adam surged across the room and grabbed Harry by the throat with both hands.

"What did you do to her?!" He roared in Harry's face. "You filthy horcrux, if you used your black magic on her, I don't care what anyone says, I'll kill you!"

"I-Didn't- do anything!" Harry rasped, struggling to speak as his face turned white. "Nothing! Cast-cast finite if you don't believe me."

"Adam," Lily said, calmly touching her eldest's shoulder. Adam growled and reluctantly released Harry, who collapsed against the couch gasping for air.

"What have you been telling Dana?" James demanded, pointing his wand at Harry. "She was never like this before school."

"Nothing!" Harry insisted. "Nothing except the truth."

He wasn't lying. Dana knew what really happened during most of Voldemort's attempts on the school – she knew about him preventing the Stone from being taken while Adam lay concussed in the middle of the Chess Board trap. She knew that he had nearly lost an arm to the basilisk because he hadn't been given treatment until several hours after the fact, leaving it the horribly scarred mess that it was today, hidden under his coat.

She knew that he had been the one to defeat the traitor Wormtail with her help and the help the Weasley girl, Ginny. Meanwhile, Adam's arrogance and kicking the man while he was down allowed him to escape instead of being turned over to the aurors. Not that Dumbledore believed that in the aftermath.

She also knew that Harry was the one who had fended off Voldemort in the graveyard a bare month ago after he murdered Cedric Diggory and was going to kill Adam. Harry couldn't let that monster hurt his brother so he had snuck into the tournament's final match and rescued him.

Of course, Adam claimed all the credit and his parents still believed he was just a creation of Voldemort's, a human horcrux.

Dana knew the truth. She had helped him a lot since coming to school; she helped him find the Chamber, she and her friends helped him learn the magic he was usually restricted from. She fought with his primary tormentors (other than Adam) and often sent them to the hospital wing.

She was on his side. That was all that kept Harry going sometimes, when his parents continually referred to him as a 'thing' instead of by his name.

"I'll be calling Dumbledore." Lily said coldly. "We'll be getting to the bottom of this, horcrux. Whatever corruption you've placed on Dana, we'll pay back tenfold."

Harry knew he had to get out of the house before nightfall the second she said those words. He hated to leave Dana behind, but he honestly didn't think he'd survive the 'punishment' that may be coming his way.

It didn't matter that he would never hurt Dana. They would never believe a Slytherin.

So while the family was having dinner and he was locked in his room, he stole the Invisiblity cloak and fled back to London, wandering until he was finally too tired to move. He collapsed upon the sidewalk in a backstreet, right in front of 15 Drayden Road.

 ****With Lily Evangeline****

Lily chuckled as she watched Ashley wander around her new house, still taking in all the sights while staying close to the bed next to the old fireplace. She was just enjoying a cup of milk and was about to turn on the TV when she heard a thud outside of her house.

Confused, Lily walked outside and frowned. She didn't see anything...except...

A flicker of color on the sidewalk. Lily's breath hitched; she walked up to it and placed her hand on the place where it had shifted. She felt fabric.

She pulled it back; it was an invisibility cloak. Underneath it was the boy she had met yesterday, his neck visibly bruised, half unconscious from exhaustion.

Lily quickly lifted him up in her arms and brought him inside, shutting the door behind her. She wrapped him in a warm blanket and adjusted the couch so he could lie down properly. The boy murmured a thank you before falling asleep.

Lily examined him for a moment, aghast. Who was doing this to him now?

 **End Chapter**

 **For simplicity's sake, whenever they're in scenes together I'll refer to Prime!Lily as Lily Evangeline (that's her new last name in this world, courtesy of Hela's amulet) and Alternate!Lily as Lily Potter/Evans.**

 **Read and Review please!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Lily Evans-Potter: World Wanderer**

 **Wanda: This is a great way to deal with plot bunnies who I can't afford to give seperate stories to!**

 **Tyene: (holding a rabbit who has 'generic love potion plot' written on its collar) Oh, goodie. Never mind that I have to chase them all down on my own.**

 **Wanda: I do not own Harry Potter!**

 **Chapter 3: Many Conversations**

Harry felt comfortable.

Already that was confusing – the last thing he remembered was walking down a road in the evening before exhaustion caught up to him. Surely he was still lying on the concrete. Had someone found him and called 911? He hoped not, if only so they wouldn't call his parents.

He was dreaming. Harry knew as much; he and Dana were both lucid dreamers. He was wandering through a field of silver flowers, unsure of where he was or what was going on. A song was ringing through the air, a lullaby, soothing him and making him feel at peace.

The clearing was surrounded by trees. Harry couldn't see past them, but he swore that a shadow was watching him from within the cover.

A bright red light appeared in the trees. As Harry watched, the shadow jerked in panic and fled, the red light hot on its heels. Whenever the shadow attempted to enter the clearing and approach him, the red light would come out and attack it ferociously until it fled again.

It was a long grudge match, but eventually the shadow dissipated. The red light stopped moving, and grew brighter.

A woman appeared in the place of the light, though she was still glowing slightly. She wore a crimson trench coat and a beautiful amulet. Harry recognized her instantly – it was Lily Evangeline.

"Hello," She said softly. "You had a bad infection, Harry. I got rid of it for you."

"Infection?" Harry parroted, shifting uncertainly from foot to foot as Lily came to a stop a few feet in front of him.

"Dark magic." Lily explained, a look of anger and distaste flashing across her face at this. "It's been there for a long time. It was sapping your magic and damaging your health. Had anyone tried to look at it before?"

Harry shook his head slightly. "My parents...they said I was a horcrux..." His brain was starting to hurt. "It-It was just that one little thing? I thought...I thought I was _made_ of dark magic...a construct..."

Lily looked horrified at the suggestion. "God, who told you that? A human being with a soul can't be transformed into a Homunculi; you and your siblings were attacked as babies right?"

"Yeah."

"Then there is absolutely no way you are a construct." Lily said matter of factly, concern washing across her face again as Harry gave her a look of pure shock. "As for the soul fragment, that's what I just got rid of. You are now clean."

Harry tried to say something in response, but his throat sealed straight up. His eyes watered and he collapsed onto his rear as this information rang through the field. Suddenly, all those 'punishments' and scorn of the last fourteen years had been for nothing. He was a human being, just like Dana had always said. He was a boy.

Lily walked over and sat down next to him. Her expression had become a mixture of anger and sadness at this. It was maternal.

"Who are you, really?" Harry asked, staring at her with rapt attention. "Where did you come from? Why do you look at me like you know me? Why do you care?"

Lily smiled sadly. "I'm not from this world, Harrison." She said. She waved a hand, suddenly Harry's dream transformed. They were moved from the field to a beach just after sunset. The amulet Lily was wearing glowed brighter in response.

"...How...?"

"Have you heard of the theory of multiple worlds?"

When Harry nodded, Lily went on, "It's true. I was born and lived in another world during my first life."

"..." Harry sat in wonder for a moment as he took in this information. "...How did you die?"

Lily closed her eyes for a moment. "I was murdered. I died protecting my son." Harry felt his heart jump into his throat; he knew her son's name before he said it. "Harry Potter."

"Y-You...you're my mother?"

"Yes...and at the same time, no. The Lily born in this world is the one who gave birth to you and raised you." Lily said. "After I died, I was greeted by Hela...that's one of the names for death."

"Death...is a girl?" Harry thought for a moment. "On second thought, looking at Dana, that's not so weird to consider..."

Lily let out a small laugh at that. Harry couldn't help but smile at the noise. "She told me that there was more I was supposed to do before I was killed, so she gave me this amulet. It has a bit of her power, and it is what allows me to travel."

"...Did your world have Voldemort?"

Lily nodded, looking grave at the man's name. "That's the assumed name of the man who killed me." She responded. "His real name is Tom Marvolo Riddle."

"I know. He told me himself."

"What!?"

"My second year. Dana's first." Harry explained uncomfortably. "A cursed diary turned up in our school, snared one of my sister's friends. When I confronted it, it had a copy of his sixteen year old personality in it."

Lily hissed like a cat who's tail had been trod on. "Inside Hogwarts!?"

"Yeah."

"Where the hell was security?!"

"Nowhere to be seen." It was probably meant as a test for Adam – Harry knew that Dumbledore suspected what the monster inside the Chamber really was. And yet he made no move to evacuate the building – the building full of baby kids, including Dana.

"Son of a bitch!" Lily growled. "Pardon my French," She added quickly.

Harry flushed a bit when he found himself smiling. "It's okay. I've heard worse." _Megan swears worse than a US Marine. I think her mum encourages it._

"You had to confront that monster? You poor thing. That must have been terrifying." Lily said sympathetically.

Harry stared down at his hands, unsure how to respond. "Well, someone had to do something...I mean, everyone was panicking and none of the teachers were looking for Ginny."

Unconsciously, he rubbed his arm where the basilisk's fangs had tried to rip him open. Lily's brow furrowed; before he could stop her she reached over and pulled his sleeve back, revealing the scarred and mangled mess that remained of the limb.

Harry looked away in shame, waiting for the older woman to retch and back up. But instead, Lily sat right where she was, paralysed in shock and horror. "Harry...how the nine rings of hell...what did this to you?"

So Harry told her everything about his second year. He wasn't sure why, but this other mother, the woman who died for another Harry, gave him comfort. So he told him about confronting the basilisk while Adam lay unconscious in the rubble from his failed attempt to rescue Ginny, the victim in question.

By the time he was over, Harry was beginning to question his decision to tell her because Lily looked ready to murder everyone at Hogwarts with a calm expression on her face. Her knuckles had turned white from clenching her fists.

"Bullshit!" Lily spat, eyes blazing. " _Bullshit!_ You're a hero, and they hung you out to dry like that!?"

"Well, it's because-"

"Stop. Stop right there." Lily ordered. Harry instantly stopped talking, filled with frightened awe over the sheer killer intent radiating off the redhead. "You are not a construct or a puppet of Voldemort's. You are the real boy who lived – just like my Harry."

"W-What?"

"Each time Riddle has stepped forward, _you_ stopped him. Not Adam. _You_. Even if I weren't able to sense these things now because of the death magic running through me, I'd say that's a pretty solid indication that Adam is not the true hero. Especially since he doesn't act like one at all to begin with!" Lily growled. "And I would love to know how my counterpart is still alive, when my son only because known as the boy who lived because I willingly gave up my life to save him out of love!"

Harry gasped.

"Yes! _Love!_ That is why Tom Riddle couldn't kill my Harry all those years ago! I didn't cower behind my babies when he came calling; I fought him until my dying breath! My James did the same!" Lily ranted. "So what Dumbledore and his _cronies_ have been doing all this time has not only been cruel, but _stupid_ and _pointless!_ Only the sacrifice of love grants true protection!"

After a moment, Lily reached forward and pulled Harry into a fierce hug.

Harry, who had only ever been hugged by Dana, crumpled in her embrace and sobbed at his sudden vindication. All this time fighting for his worth, and only a few had seen his worth.

"Shhh..." Lily whispered, rubbing his back. "Shhh. It's okay. I'm not going to let them hurt you."

"But it's the Order...if they turn on you, you'll be thrown to Voldemort."

"Hah...! I'm not afraid of him anymore... nor am I afraid of cowards who abuse children! You are safe here, Harrison...you've protected everyone here since you eleven. Now let me protect you." Lily whispered.

 ****~Across the City, with Dana~****

Megan Jones opened her door, affectionately rolling her eyes at her cousin Graham's Sherlock Holmes impersonation, to find Dana standing in the rain.

"I'm really sorry," Dana said with a sort of forced calm that instantly told Megan something had happened at home. "Can I crash at your place for a little?"

"Sure thing." Megan said. "You hiding from your folks?"

"Yeah."

"Come up to my room. Graham likes to charm our houses to prevent break ins; it will look like no one's home. Tori is here too."

Dana nodded gratefully and stepped inside, tossing her wet sweater over the nearest chair and kicking off her shoes. Megan glanced towards the hallway; her parents were abroad to seal some international laws leaving her to take care of Graham and the house. Megan was the most responsible of the Jones-Pritchard family, but that didn't mean she didn't indulge in rule breaking when she felt it was appropriate.

"Dana!" Astoria said brightly when the redhaired girl stomped into the bedroom, Megan and Graham warily trailing behind her. The blonde haired girl had been conversing with the final member of their circle of friends, Ginny Weasley, who was currently trapped in her home with Ron and Adam Potter.

Dana forced another smile, hugged her friend, and then said, "You all might want to cover your ears."

Graham – always quick on the uptake, even at twelve – cast a silencing charm over half the room.

Dana immediately began screaming loud enough that you'd be forgiven for believing she was half Banshee. "I HATE DUMBLEDORE, I HATE HIM, I HATE THOSE SMUG SELF SATISFIED BASTARDS, I HATE THEM ALL! FUCK THE PROPHECY, FUCK THE ORDER, FUCK EVERYTHING! I SHOULD JUST FUCKING HAND THIS WHOLE COUNTRY OVER TO VOLDEMORT, YOU WOULDN'T EVEN NOTICE THE DIFFERENCE! _**GAH!**_ _**ARRRRGHGHH!**_ "

Astoria quickly muttered an apology to Ginny and deactivated the mirror so Dana couldn't be heard on the other side of the connection. "-EVIL OLD BITCH HAG AND BASTARD, THEY GLOAT LIKE PUREBLOODS AND THEIR VILENESS FOLLOWS ME EVERYWHERE. I SWEAR IF THEY'VE HURT HARRY BAD ENOUGH TO KILL HIM, I'M GOING TO RETURN THE FAVOR SEVENFOLD-"

"It's bad, isn't it?" Graham asked mildly as Dana's magic caused the air around her to crackle with lightning.

"I don't know yet," Megan said, looking vaguely impressed at the display. "She hasn't said anything. Clearly, whatever happened was _really_ bad."

"This can't be good." Astoria noted in concern.

"What else is new with the Potters?" Megan asked sourly.

A few minutes later, Dana finally ran her throat raw and collapsed on Megan's bed, seething. Graham took down the wards and Astoria brought Ginny back into the conversation.

"Impeccable timing." Ginny informed her friends. "Adam was just hitting on me. I'm almost grateful; it gives me an excuse to hole up in my room and not be bothered while he's visiting." She groaned. "I should have run off with Fred and George and lived in the flat above their joke shop."

Dana spat another three lines of curses, this time in German. Megan silently summoned a glass of water and handed it to her.

"Dare I even ask what happened this time?" Astoria asked faintly.

Dana propped herself up against the head of the bed and asked, completely seriously, "Tori, if I disown myself from the Potter family, would your mum and dad adopt me?"

Astoria brightened. "I think I could plead with mum until she caves. I mean, now that Jason and Percy are born, dad isn't worried about having another girl around the house."

"That bad, huh?" Ginny asked, sounding as though she already knew the answer.

"Lily and James have convinced themselves that Harry has me under spells." Dana spat out eventually. "Never bloody fucking well mind that they could just cast 'finite' and discover I hate them on my own free will; Harry had to run away from the house to protect himself. Now I don't know where he is."

"Bullshit!" Megan said incredulously. "Are they really that blind?"

" _Willfully_ blind." Dana growled, downing her glass. "All on the orders of the _great Albus Dumbledore_. They're such _puppets,_ saying that it must be dark magic."

"They don't know the first thing about Dark Magic." Astoria grumbled, thinking of her Slytherin friends Hestia and Flora. Both girls used dark magic defensively, but they were some of the most empathetic students in Slytherin. (granted, the bar wasn't exactly set high).

At this point, Megan's mirror began vibrating. The black haired girl quickly got up and activated it, revealing the unamused face of Adina Black and her twin sister, Ainsley.

"Megan! Is Dana with you?" Adina asked anxiously. "Dad is going after Harry with a bunch of the Order; they're going to imprison him at Hogwarts!"

"Dana's here." Megan said, though not before Graham said something spitefully directed at Dumbledore that would get him docked his video game privileges. "Harry isn't; he had the sense to run while he had an opening."

Ainsley sighed in relief. It was well known among the group about her crush on Harry.

The Black twins, unlike their elder brother Moran, were disliked by their father and mother due to having been sorted into Hufflepuff as opposed to Gryffindor. _After all, that was the only place heroes went._

Because of this, Adina and Ainsley had more in common with Dana than any of the boys, so they also discreetly helped Harry through the trials he was undergoing.

Given that they weren't Gryffindors and therefore worshipping the ground Dumbledore and Adam Potter walked on, they knew that most of the students at school were thoroughly displeased by both Dumbledore's handling of the dangerous situations they had been in continuously over the past four years. Most of the Slytherins (who weren't following in their parents footsteps) were already planning to throw their lot in elsewhere the moment they had the opportunity, while the Ravenclaws had suspicions that Adam was not actually the boy who lived. The Hufflepuffs, more simply, despised the way the Potters acted (like drunken, spoiled celebrities) and their abuse of their younger son.

Also, virtually all of them _hated_ Adam, regarding him as little more than a pompous, cowardly bully with a huge ego – essentially a Gryffindor version of Draco Malfoy, right down to the two bodyguard toadies in Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger.

"Ainsley, Adina, hi." Ginny said happily from her mirror, which Astoria propped up on the desk so she could see everyone. "Good to see you two seem to be doing okay."

"For the given definition of okay," Adina said, scowling fiercely. "I'm about as happy as Dana right now, for all the same reasons."

"There's got to be some sort of way we can stop this," Ainsley said fearfully. "Harry's going to get seriously hurt at this rate, and with no one at the Ministry believing that Voldemort is coming back, our only hope is resting on that doddering old man!"

"If _that's_ our only hope, we should pack our bags and run off to Canada." Graham said sourly. "Maybe we'll be able to live happy lives there until Voldemort's influence spreads beyond Britain."

Dana, who had worn herself out screaming, growled in agreement.

"I've got an idea." Megan announced. Once she had everyone's attention, she said, "If Harry gets captured, we rescue him ourselves and bolt for the Smiths."

For a moment, the room was silent with surprise. "Seriously?" Astoria asked. "That'd be considered open rebellion, wouldn't it?"

"Hah! Rebellion against one? A couple of idiots who are incompetent to the point of maliciousness?" Megan scoffed. "Adina, Zach likes you – do you think he'd shelter us?"

Adina twisted a strand of her curled reddish brown hair between her fingers. "Probably." She said. "We could probably ask Blaise as well."

"Would you be able to make it if you ran, Ginny?" Dana asked in concern.

The redhead bit her lip. "I'd have to get lucky. Mum and dad wouldn't want anything going wrong for the Potters after all."

Ginny's family had been relatively stable until Ron Weasley got involved with Adam Potter. To put a fine point on it, Ron already possessed some unpleasant characteristics and being best friends with the spoiled supposed BWL had made them all much worse. Molly and Arthur had fallen with the Potters and fiercely defended them from any criticism, no matter how deserved.

The family splintered thanks to the Potters. Bill and Charlie basically fled oversees to their respective jobs. Fred and George, who sympathized with Harry and tried to help him out, were verbally harassed until they left the house to start their own joke shop. (Astoria and Daphne provided the money.) Ron was devoted to Adam, Percy devoted to the corrupted Ministry.

Meanwhile, Ginny herself was being heavily pressured into being Adam's girlfriend. Since he 'rescued' her from the Chamber (when it was really Harry), Adam and his parents decided that meant he was entitled to have her as a future wife. Adam treated her like a personal toy, causing Ginny to resist bitterly. Her parents kept trying to 'raise her right', which included forbidding her from hanging out with her friends in Slytherin, Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff.

Luckily, Ginny had Dana, Adina and Ainsley looking out for her, so Adam had learned to mostly keep his hands to himself whenever they were all together.

Suddenly, Dana's phone rang. She pulled it out and looked at the number ID before gasping in relief. "It's Harry," She told her friends.

"Hey Dana." Harry's voice floated through the room. He sounded relaxed and calm. "You okay?"

"Me? What about you!? Where are you!? Tell me, we can go pick you up and get you someplace safe." Dana said, anxiety visible in her voice.

"It's alright, Dana. I'm safe where I am right now. I've met someone who can help me." Harry explained. "I told her about you, and I'd like you to come over. Bring your friends, if they can come."

"We can." Megan said helpfully. "Where is this place?"

 **End Chapter**

 **So, Dana sure has a lot of friends! That's what happens when you aren't an arrogant egotist. Those conversations I hope gave some worldbuilding, which I'm going to build on next chapter. I figured if Sirius was alive, he'd have kids as well - you know, to be like James.**

 **Read and Review please!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Lily Evans-Potter: World Wanderer**

 **Tyene: You're pretty glad to get all these cliches out aren't you?**

 **Wanda: Cliche and proud! I do not own Harry Potter.**

 **Chapter 4: The Wrong Boy Who Lived, part 3**

"I knew it." Dana said flatly.

It had taken a few hours for Dana and her friends to make their way to Lily's house. Graham had done a complete double take upon seeing the red haired woman; Adina and Megan reacted the same way though they hid it better.

Harry gave his sister a tight hug and said high to Adina and Ainsley, who blushed. The look passed in an instant, but Dana swore that the other Lily looked pleased to notice this.

They all sat down at the dining room table, Ashley hopping onto Adina's knees. Adina, who always loved cats, cooed over her and scratched her belly. There, Lily filled them in on her history and what she had discovered about Harry and Adam.

"I fucking knew it." Dana said, her cup of hot chocolate hitting the table with a _clink._ "I knew Adam wasn't the hero. He couldn't be."

"So that's how Voldemort came back!" Ainsley said, turning green at the implications. "God, that's absolutely _sick_!"

"I can't say I'm surprised." Graham threw his two cents in. "Riddle is famous for his black magic. I figured they had done something to stay alive that passed beyond inhuman. He didn't get his name for his ability to throw lovely tea parties, after all."

"So Harry's been taking shit all this year for nothing." Adina growled. "Isn't that the cherry on the ship pie the last fourteen years have been?"

"You're from another world, and you have death magic." Megan said to Lily, eyes gleaming. "Hot damn, that's awesome."

Lily blushed and waved it off. "It's nothing, really – the magic was a gift from Hela. The Horcruxes aren't just a vicious evil, they're also an insult to her. That's why I have the ability to destroy them with a thought – its part of her magic."

"So they're all gone?" Astoria prefaced. Ginny leaned forward hopefully at this.

"Yes." Lily said, her ruby necklace glowing brightly again. The children hushed and stared at it, mesmerized by the power it was emitting. "All that's left is to deal with the man himself."

"Oh! Oh! Let's whack Adam over the back of the head and leave him tied up in the Ministry as bait!" Ginny said with near psychotic eagerness. When Astoria and Megan gave her weird looks, she sulked, "What? I can hope, can't I?"

"Ginny may have a point." Lily said. The youngest Weasley brightened at the thought of serving the boy who sexually harrassed her for months on end up like a worm on the end of a hook. "though perhaps not that extreme. I don't believe being an asshole is worth a death sentence."

Ginny slumped back in her chair and crossed her arms, pouting. Lily and Adina both chuckled outright at this.

"Riddle isn't good at taking attacks on his ego. And since the Ministry is insisting that he never returned, it may be wise to lure him into a battle at the building itself. With some caution, of course – I, unlike Dumbledore, do not find collateral damage to be a 'necessary' addition to a battle." Lily said.

"May I ask a question?" Dana enquired. When she had everyone's attention, she asked with a scowl, "How do we make sure when this is all over that Dumbledore and my shit tastic parents don't immediately declare Harry the next dark lord while still holding up Adam as the living sainted boy who lived?"

Lily's expression twisted into something ugly for a moment. "Don't worry. We'll make sure they have no illusions of what happened when they arrive."

"They'll be late." Adina muttered. "They've always been."

"All the better for it." Lily responded. "Harry said that you are all very talented duellists."

Ainsley blushed at the praise; Adina, Megan and Ginny all nodded. "We kind of had to be; since Adam's yearly 'tests' took place in the school." Adina reported.

"Not to mention neither he nor Dumbledore gave a single fuck about security." Megan added darkly. "Ginny and Ainsley nearly died during that Tri Wizard Tournament bullshit when Dumbledore had them chained to the bottom of a Scottish lake, in the middle of fucking winter. If I could have killed him and the Potters before being subdued, I would have."

Adina glowered in agreement.

"It was freezing." Ginny agreed in complaint. "I ran a high fever for three days, and all _Ron and Hermione_ would say was that it was _so romantic_ that I was Adam's hostage!"

"I'm scared of swimming now. At least Krum got me out faster than poor Ginny." Ainsley confined. "Not to mention the four Hufflepuffs who sustained burns when the dragon that had been selected for the first task broke loose during Adam's trial."

"Or the Beaubaxtons champion getting asphyxiated during the Third Task. She saved Adam from a trap meant for him, and the little fucker just ran for it like a coward." Adina spat out.

Lily raked her hands through her hair, rubbing her thumbs against her forehead. "So many crimes." She said. "It's amazing Dumbledore is regarded as a light lord when he's so willing to throw young lives away!"

"Flora likes to remind us that Light and Dark aren't necessarily parallel with good and evil." Graham recalled. "History's greatest hero was a Dark Lord; back in the time of Wizard Kingdoms. It wasn't until after Salazar Slytherin's death that dark magic was being tarred as innately evil."

Lily gave Graham a curious look. "Oh? In my home land, Salazar Slytherin was remembered as one of the first blood purists."

"That was the propaganda spread after his death." Graham responded. "Salazar was reluctant to open Hogwarts to muggleborns thanks to the Witch Hunts. He thought that they would have absorbed their parents hatred and fanaticism. In the end, he was one of the greatest champions of young wizards – muggleborn or otherwise."

Harry nodded. "I discovered some of Slytherin's tomes after I defeated the basilisk in the chamber. The Chamber was originally intended to be a Panic Room of sorts, but Tom Riddle took advantage of the stigma to use it as an outlet for muggle murder."

"Hestia and Flora could tell you more." Megan added, seeing Lily's curious look.

"More friends of yours?" Lily guessed.

Dana nodded proudly. "They're both really brave and protective. Flora's kind of abrasive, but she lived with her parents until they were arrested for incest, plus she's constantly dealing with the whole 'anti Slytherin' sentiment in the school."

"Can you invite them over? We can use as many ready hands as possible for this venture." Lily suggested. Megan brightened and nodded in agreement, pulling out her mirror and stepping into the other room.

"So how are we going to go about this?" Adina asked.

"There's something in the Ministry Riddle wants." Ginny said. Out of all the children, she was the only one allowed to know the Order's plans, and even then not in extreme detail. (Mostly, she hid and spied of them to get her information.) "Dumbledore says its a prophecy – it's probably the one referring to Harry and Riddle."

"Why is he bothering with that?" Lily asked, baffled.

Ginny scowled. "No idea. Personally, I think he's going senile. Anyway, Riddle seems to want the prophecy as well – something about not hearing the whole thing. He's trying to get it while still maintaining the idea that he's dead. That gives him more time to gather his allies."

"Then we won't let him do that." Lily decided. "Harry, do you think you can face him?"

Harry shrugged and nodded. "To be honest, I've already done that four times, and those times I was alone. This time, I won't be."

Lily smiled and brushed his hair away from his face. "Of course. I'll be there to protect you." Looking around the table, she said, "Riddle doesn't know he can die now. He'll be arrogant and reckless. The Order has done little to nothing to prevent him from regaining power, and the Ministry is outright sticking its head in the sand. There's no better time than now."

"Where do we need to go?" Dana asked.

"The Atrium." Adina said instantly. "You need to go through there to get to the prophecy room, and there's always a bunch people working there overtime. The alarms will go off, and depending on how long the man lasts the rest of the Ministry will show up as well. So no matter what, Voldemort will be seen and the country will know he's alive. Or, that he _was_."

Ginny grinned, again looking slightly feral. "I can't _wait_ to see the look on Dumbledore's face once he realized he chose the wrong boy." She said eagerly. "Hell, I should bring a camera! That memory will be worth a lot when this hits the front pages."

"Once Voldemort is done, I'll deal with his plants in the Ministry as well." Lily added, her fingers ghosting across the ruby hanging from her neck again. It flashed three times. "When he dies, they die."

"Sounds about right." Graham sniffed. "You can't bribe your way out of death. They'll die the way they deserve to."

Megan walked back into the room. "Flora's eager to help out. I also got a call from Zach; he said his family will throw their _considerable_ resources behind Harry as well."

The Smiths were the only known surviving descendants of one of the Founders. Because of that, they were fabulously wealthy and well connected; their family's power ran all throughout Britain and even beyond that. They remained comfortably on the sidelines due to a very Hufflepuff lack of interest in control and politics, though when it came to saving lives they were always the first on the floor.

And Flora would say only descendants for a reason; there was considerable doubt on Riddle's claims to be descended from Slytherin. For one thing, Drake Slytherin's sole child, Alyssa, had fallen in love with another woman and run away with her, spiting her father's chosen suitor. Because of that, their adopted children, Rachel and Maylene Slytherin, had been refused recognition for inheritance back in 1890.

In a more tolerate time, the Gaunts claimed to be descended from Maylene Slytherin due to being in possession of her ring, but muddled records following her and Rachel's deaths prevented such things from being conclusive.

Riddle could speak Parsletongue, but that ability passed down through the male line – more likely, he was descended from a Slytherin cadet branch that had fallen into Squib territory due to inbreeding.

Funny that the means of preserving 'pure blood' was what did them in.

 ****~Later~****

Flora, Hestia, Zachary and his parents arrived at the house the next day. Stories were passed around, plans made, and the children all had fun together.

Zachary's mother Cecile made her contempt for the Potters extremely obvious in her dialogue to Lily; she was impressed with Harry's courage over the years and had been encouraging her husband to discreetly support the boy. Jason Smith had been uncertain, given the political power Dumbledore and the Potters wielded ruthlessly, (and being a non-confrontational man in general). But given the new information, he agreed and offered Harry his condolences for his struggles.

Cecile, suspecting that Lily wouldn't stay in this world for too long, offered to adopt Harry and Dana once the middle child had defeated Voldemort, giving them the name Hufflepuff-Smith. Lily approved, seeing Cecile's undying affection both for her son, and towards Adina and Ainsley (who, while not being her own, often came to her for companionship when their father was being especially intolerable.) She was a good mother – unlike Lily Flora Evans-Potter.

Adina and Zachary got along very well. Harry and Dana not so subtly nudged at them to kiss or start dating, especially after a group viewing of The Notebook. Poor Zachary got very flustered, knocking over his popcorn bowl in his haste to stand up and tell his friend off.

Ainsley, with some gentle encouragement from Lily, gave Harry a kiss on the cheek in the morning when the group went out to confront Voldemort. Harry was stunned, and went into a bit of a daze as the black haired girl blushed and looked away. Ainsley resembled her mother, but she had Sirius' black hair and silver eyes, giving her a very soft and beautiful appearance. Hiding the fire underneath.

Dana was more happy than she had been in years. The redhead practically glowed as she exchanged jokes with Megan, messed around with Ashley, or helped Lily about the house itself.

Then the day to take care of Voldemort emerged.

Cecile and Jason helped Lily plan it to a fine point. The children would never be in any real danger, but any death eaters who came with Voldemort would.

Lily's death magic, when fully unlocked, was so oppressive that her mere presence would cause all but the most powerful of wizards to collapse on the ground in agony. While Dana, Adina, Ainsley, Flora, Hestia, Megan, Zachary and even Graham got in good shots, it was ultimately Lily who slaughtered Voldemort's death eaters.

Dana, in later years, would recall how amazing and terrifying it had been to witness. Lily was surrounded by a blood red aura, which then filled the whole room. Black tendrils snaked across the floor, ensnaring anyone with a Dark Mark. They then crushed them, destroying the bodies, binding the souls.

The howls of pain chilled all who listened to the bone; Ministry Fudge outright fell into a trauma induced coma in the aftermath.

Finally, the evils were dragged screaming into the underworld before the terrified onlookers, leaving only Voldemort behind.

Harry faced him down and defeated him in single combat, using a simple ' _Accio'_ ' to end the battle. He summoned a knife and brought it forward with the speed of a bullet, cleaving Voldemort in half.

He did this before the Ministry – including Amelia Bones and Kingsley Shakabolt – as well as Lily Potter, James Potter, Adam Potter, and the rest of the Order.

Naturally, the silence following Voldemort's fall was broken by Adam throwing a cutting curse at his brother, screaming, " _You're not the hero! I'M THE HERO!_ "

 **End Chapter**

 **Something I notice in WBWL stories is that the WBWL is often so insufferable and borderline psychotic I can't understand how even Dumbledore and his sychophants put up with him.**

 **Read and Review please!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Lily Evans-Potter: World Wanderer**

 **Tyene: (watching Wanda combat Writer's Block) What!? He's back!**

 **Wanda: No shit! A little help please!**

 **Tyene: (drawing her blade and running in) But I thought we _blew him up!_**

 **Wanda: I do not own Harry Potter!**

 **Chapter 5: The Wrong Boy Who Lived, part 4**

It was Lily who stopped the curse. The blast struck a red barrier she had conjured between her mirror son and the hellspawn. Jason Smith reacted instantly; disarming Adam. Dana and her friends immediately followed suit, removing the weapons of the entire Order.

It required Adina, Ainsley, Megan and Zachary to keep Dana from launching herself at her family and ripping them to shreds with her bare hands. "You pack of ignorant little _shits!_ Harry finally _killed_ that monster, and this is how you respond!?"

"Yes!" Cecile bellowed, raising her head and glaring at Dumbledore. "You can see the signs now, Dumbledore. YOU! CHOSE! THE! WRONG! BOY!"

"It's a trick!" James shouted back, the implied condemnation going straight over his head. He was convinced he had never done anything wrong. "The monster is using black magic to fool all of you."

"So all thirty something people here didn't see Voldemort's curse rebounding or Harry cutting him in half?" Lily asked with scathing sarcasm. "I suppose we all went blind? Or that we didn't see their wands lock and cause Priori Incantem? So you're both sadistic and stupid."

The Ministry folk were gathered around them in a circle. Reporters were muttering in a hostile manner, their eyes flicking between Harry and the people who he had called family for fifteen years. Dumbledore, clearly feeling the eyes on him, motioned for James to take a step backwards.

Lily Evans stared at Lily Potter.

The Potter wife looked incredulously at her mirror image, who stared straight back with scathing contempt. "Who the hell are you?" She demanded.

"Oh, no one special," Lily Evans said coldly. "I'm just who you could have been if you had something resembling a soul."

"How dare you insult my wife!?" James demanded.

" **I dare!** " Lily roared; with her magic, it filled the whole room. " **I dare, because what coward hides behind their children when a monster comes calling!? What pathetic excuse of a woman abuses and mistreats her child because of the whispered, drunken words of an old fraud?! What coward allows their son to do whatever he pleases because he is 'special!?' There is** _ **no**_ **difference between you and Narcissa Malfoy, except that Narcissa doesn't pretend to be anything other than a Mafia princess! You, on the other hand, hide behind a veil of 'righteousness' and make excuses, all the while pretending that self same justice doesn't apply to you!** "

Dana put a hand on Lily's arm. "Thanks, other mum," She said quietly, "But do you mind if we take the floor? They'll just ignore you, since you're a stranger."

Lily Evans paused her rage and smiled down at the redhead. "Of course, Dana. I just wanted to get that off my chest."

"Adina! Ainsley! What the hell are you doing over there with the horcrux spawn and his toadies!?" Sirius Black demanded. "Get over here at once! I raised you better!"

"You know, you sound an awful lot like Grandmother when you go off like this, _father_." Adina responded; her voice had a frigidness that would turn oceans to ice.

Sirius recoiled, staring at her with mingled rage and alarm. "Sounds like?" Ainsley asked, her voice growing louder with outrage. "Adina, you underestimate him. He's _just like_ grandmother, just his cruelty takes the form of light instead of darkness!"

"How dare you talk to Sirius like that!" James bellowed, striding forward. Lily Evans flicked a finger, sending a shockwave that threw the man straight back on his ass. Lily Potter screeched and ran to his side.

"Children! Children!" Dumbledore shouted. "Please! There's no need for this. Your parents have made some mistakes, but they still love you?"

"Love!" Dana laughed outright at this. Her green eyes stared down both her parents and her headmaster. "You don't know what love is! You don't love me or Harry or even Adam. You let Adam grow up into a spoiled little shit with an entitlement complex that rivals Draco Malfoy. You know that's what they call him in school? Draco Malfoy with black hair. Though considering what you were like in school _daddy_ , I can't say I'm too surprised! You don't love me, you just have me around as a means of validation, as bragging rights, _look at us, we're the_ amazing _Potters!"_ She mimicked a high pitched, snooty voice at this.

"Adam needed all our attention!" Lily Potter protested venomously. "Harry was the one who started planting those ideas-"

"Then cast finite incantatum, so I can clearly state for the record that I completely despise all of you on my own free will!" Dana spat back.

"How could you say that!? After how much we put into raising you-" Sirius had recovered his voice; though he was turning red at the face with anger.

"Effort!" Ainsley scoffed. "You mean getting drunk and picking fights with everyone who happened to look at you the wrong way? Great example to set, dad."

"Spending more time in front of a camera than taking care of us," Adina added. "Or using any problems or situations we ran into as an excuse to soapbox and shove your beliefs down everyone's throat. I'm not the one who publicly called a couple of eleven year olds 'next generation death eaters' just because they were Slytherins."

"That only happened twice!" Sirius snapped. His wife, Mallory, tapped his shoulder and raised up four fingers. "I only remember twice." He said.

"The other times you were roaring drunk." Adina noted. "I'm not surprised, since Bumblebore over there always shielded you from any consequences of your behaviour."

"Adina's hit the nail on the head." Dana said flatly. "I mean, Christ, no wonder Adam is such a hellion, he's a carbon copy of what _you_ were like in school! You were a swaggering bully who got away with every horrible trick you pulled because you only focused on easy targets. Once you were out of school and Professor Snape had to put a whole ocean between himself and you, you just turned your attention to the next one – Harry, all because the Great Infallible Dumbledore _thought,_ thought, not confirmed, mind you, that he might become dark in the future!"

"The Prophecy states-" Lily Potter started.

"If you had a _real_ expert look at the magic, not simply accepting whatever drunken gibberish spilled out of Dumbledore's mouth, you would have known that Adam wasn't the chosen one." Cecile interrupted, regarding James, Lily Potter, Adam, Sirius and Mallory with a mixture of annoyance and contempt. "You would have realized that Adam's scar was simply the result of falling debris and not an actual curse scar."

"Why did you even believe Dumbledore in the first place?" Flora asked scathingly. "Because he always indulged you, so you thought he must be god? He's just a man, and not much of one if the rumours about him and Grindelwald are true."

Dumbledore went absolutely white at the face when the Slytherin girl uttered those words. Lily Evans saw the curse he was about to throw at the girl and disarmed him – he had a second wand, apparently. This one was significantly more ornate than the first.

"The tournament was when I gave up on trying to tell you," Harry said, speaking for the first time since Adam attacked him. His eyes had gone cold and empty. "You threatened me, abused me, and accused me of being a monster all the while I was trying to protect Adam from dying."

"Just knowing that magic alone-"

"Was the only thing keeping us alive while you threw yearly 'tests' at your hellspawn!" Flora spat. "Are you goat fuckers _blind_? Your sainted headmaster repeatedly invited a mass murderer into a school full of baby kids so _Adam and his friends_ could play hero, never fucking mind what happened to the rest of us!"

"My dear, you were always perfectly safe." Dumbledore said with his trademark grandfatherly smile.

Dana looked ready to erupt like Mt Vesuvious. Flora had gone past the flames of rage and entered a pool of pure, calm fury. "Firstly," She said tightly, "never, ever call me that again if you'd like to keep your balls. Secondly, perfectly safe – perfectly safe! I suppose a starving Cerberus on a third floor with the smuck bait 'don't go up there' was supposed to be safe!?"

"How about leaving all the kids in a school with a basilisk, refusing to evacuate even after six kids were petrified?" Zach added. He had beef with that particular incident; after all, he had been one of the first victims and spent six months as a garden statue.

"Or how about never reigning in Draco Malfoy and his cronies, even when they seriously injured someone and kept throwing racial slurs around like he was being paid to say them?" Half blood Megan added bitterly. "Or stopping Adam from assaulting everyone who didn't worship him and the ground he walked on?"

"Or when you encouraged my parents to give me to Adam as if I were a toy?" Ginny threw in, glaring angrily at her sobbing mother and father in the crowd. "As if you had any right to sell me, like I'm some sort of mug?"

"Or those _fabulously_ failed defences when another mass murderer got into the school?" Graham suggested acidically. "Really, Pettigrew got in under your nose when you already know his animagus form? Even someone going senile couldn't be that stupid."

"Or _everything_ involved with the Tri Wizard Tournament? The Hufflepuffs who got maimed, Fleur Delacure, throwing Ginny and Ainsley into a freezing lake with inadequate protective charms, and finally _attacking_ Harry when he came back with Cedric's body _and_ Adam, having driven Voldemort off?" Dana finished up. "Is that supposed to be _safe_ , Dumbledore?"

"I did what I felt I had to."

"And fuck the rest of us, huh?" Dana snapped. "So it's finally out in the open. You lot only cared about your own egos and shaping the world to be something pleasing to your eyes. HEY! PERCIVAL WEASLEY!"

Percy Weasley, the least liked of this generation from that family and loyal Ministry toady yelped and took a few steps forward.

"You do all the recording for dumbass hat over there, right?" Dana didn't wait for Fudge to sputter out a response – or for Percy to open his mouth. "I hearby extend my resignation from Hogwarts, effective immediately. My big brother, too."

"Mine as well." Adina added.

"And mine!" Ainsley declared.

"You can count in me, Megan, and Graham as well." Ginny said with an angry scowl.

"I will also be withdrawing Zach from the school." Jason said coldly.

Dumbledore, who understood the implications of what was coming, whitened even further. "Please! You must reconsider. The Light needs-"

"You are not the sole representative of the Light, Dumbledore." Jason interrupted. His wife laughed at the Headmaster's expression when he heard this. "Contrary to what you seem to believe, there are other people in this country who wish to keep the innocent safe – something you have consistently failed at for nearly seventy years now. That stops today."

"My husband and father in law have a family history that dates back over a thousand years ago, to our ancestor Helga Hufflepuff." Cecile said patiently, as if speaking to an exceptionally slow child. "We have more money, favours and debts backed up than the Malfoys, Blacks and Potters combined.'

She arched an eyebrow. "The reason our family isn't sitting on a throne, ruling your world with an iron fist? Because we are Hufflepuffs. That isn't our way. Unlike you and Riddle. You know, that's why you never received Owen Smith's support – he said that he had hoped you would be a true Light Lord after your defeat of Grindelwald, but you turned out to be a 'delusional crackpot revoltingly prone to playing favourites."

Dana laughed. James's face turned green, while Sirius sputtered incomprehensibly. Cecile shrugged delicately. "His words, not mine." She said.

"Grow up." Jason said flatly, glaring contemptuously at the Potters. "Your hellspawn isn't the chosen one. Harrison is."

"I prefer Harry, sir." Harry murmured.

"Ah, my apologies." Jason gave the real boy who lived an awkward smile. "Force of etiquette habit. Dana, I believe you weren't quite finished?"

Dana nodded and smiled. "Yes. Today, I also disown myself from the Potter family. I refuse to acknowledge James Charles Potter and Lily Rose Evans-Potter as my parents."

"I do the same." Harry said simply.

"WHAT!?" James and Lily Potter sputtered in concert. "You can't do that!" James shouted, reaching out a hand for Dana.

"I. Just. Did." Dana said coldly, turning her back on him. "You no longer have any authority over me. And I can just say, sir, I have been waiting a _long_ time to say that."

"I've put in the paperwork to adopt both of you." Jason said. "You have my support for dealing with Voldemort and what remains of his followers."

Lily felt her amulet glowing. Placing her hand on it, she noticed that her form was fading out. She could feel her magic resonating.

 _It's time to go, soon. You've done your part in helping them._

"I hearby disown myself and my twin sister from the Black family. Neither I nor Ainsley acknowledge Sirius Orion Black or Mallory Michelle Black as our parents." Adina threw her two cents in.

Cecile called, "Mr Shackabolt? To coin a muggle phrase, 'you have the floor now'."

The tall black auror tipped his head to the Smith matriach before declaring in his booming voice, "James Potter, Lily Potter, Sirius Black, Mallory Black, you are all hereby under arrest for child abuse, public indecency, and aggressive civil disturbance. Albus Dumbledore, you are under arrest for malicious child safety breaches at Hogwarts, child abuse via proxy against Harry Hufflepuff-Smith, and obstruction of justice."

Lily Evans faded out as the Potters and Dumbledore were slammed in cuffs and hauled away.

Harry and Dana saw her leave, and her comforting smile would follow them for the rest of their days.

 ****~Elsewhere~****

"Ashley!" Lily laughed and swept her cat – no, Familiar – up in her arms. "Oh, you silly thing. Of course I wasn't leaving you behind! I just didn't think you wanted to swim."

The short haired cat mewed. _"I like being contrary to expectations, Lily. I love swimming."_

"Is that so?" Lily petted her companion on the head. "Great. Then you can decide where we go next."

 **End Chapter**

 **This is what I wanted dearly to say to every single version of Lily and James Potter in the WBWL stories.**

 **Next World - Oh dear, Human who remembered my name once! You're supposedly the Heir to all of Hogwarts and the World!**

 **Read and Review please!**


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